Writings On The Wall
by LERDM
Summary: Time travel, what a novel idea. If only Ella could manage to get past the fact that when she killed her father, Sebastian Shaw, she too would die. This starts off as insignificant, she didn't care about herself, just about killing him. It becomes more and more troublesome, however, when she becomes increasingly attached to Erik Lensherr. Eric x OC
1. Chapter 1

Erik met her on what should have been the best day of his life. The day he was going to kill Sebastian Shaw. Except, it seemed like someone had already beaten him to it.

There was a young woman holding a knife to his throat. She had dark eyes and dark, wavy hair, and, more importantly, she was holding a knife to his throat.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," he said in a cocky attitude as if he was certain he would walk away from this.

The woman's eyes hardened, "No, we haven't, not yet, and never again." Erik couldn't place her accent, it sounded vaguely Germanic but it wasn't quite right.

Shaw glanced over to Emma Frost, who was standing off to the side, "Let me handle this."

The girl then teleported behind Whirlwind and hit him hard on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious, then she lept out of the way of Azazel, who had just appeared behind her. He disappeared, but she had had her weaknesses as a teleporter engrained onto her from the moment her mutation had manifested, so needless to say, she was prepared to go up against another teleporter. Her fist collided with Azazel's face just as he appeared in his next location.

Erik watched from his hiding place with great interest. Then suddenly she turned to look right at him, and all eyes turned to him.

"Erik!" Shaw said happily. "So glad you could join us. I'll get to you, just after I finish dealing with this unexpected problem." Shaw then turned back to the young woman. "What did you say your name is again?"

She took a deep breath, and that was when Erik noticed that she was literally steaming. She took a step towards Shaw again, "My name is Ella Schmidt, you created me, raised me, experimented on me, tortured me, and when you couldn't control me anymore, you tried to kill me, but you even failed at that. Now I'm here to make sure you never touch anyone ever again." Shaw frowned, but then his eyes widened in realization. She was from the future.

Erik moved to her side and she grinned as Emma Frost moved to Shaw's.

"Emma..." Shaw spoke, wanting her to knock them unconscious so he could take them. But Ella knew what he was going to do. When Emma tried to penetrate their minds she found... a wall of diamond.

"I... can't," she said with shock. "She's like me."

Ella grinned, "Well, I would be... I think technically you're my mother even though you died about a hundred years before I was born."

Frost's eyes widened as she looked at Shaw, who had an odd look on his face like he was proud of his future self. In just that moment, Ella disappeared and reappeared behind Frost and Erik began to face off with Shaw.

It was going well for Ella, Frost was struggling to keep up, but Erik didn't know how to deal with Shaw, he just kept trying to throw things at him, and Shaw was finding it amusing. The moment he didn't, Erik was in trouble. And Ella saw it in her head, Shaw would become annoyed and wanted to get to her so he would hit Erik was everything he had, and Erik wouldn't survive. Ella froze, allowing Emma to get a hit on her before she moved to Erik's side. She stepped in front of him just as Shaw blasted them with energy.

Ella held her arms out in front of her and repelled it back to him. Shaw was shocked at first but then began to clap, "I think I really outdid myself with you. What a waste."

Ella turned to face Erik, "We have to go, if we stay here, he'll kill us."

Erik looked at her and nodded slightly, he knew that he would be dead if it wasn't for her.

Suddenly, they were standing in a park not too far away. Ella stepped away from him and looked around with wonder, she had never seen the world like this, only in her dreams. She turned back to Erik with a sigh, "I'm sorry, I assume you want him dead as much as I do."

Erik looked at her, "More than you know." He held out his hand, "Erik Lensherr."

Ella smiled apologetically, "Sorry, I would, but..." Ella overturned her hands so he could see her palms. They were red and blistered, burned from when she had protected him from Shaw's powers.

Erik looked at them closely, "Come on, I can help you with that." Ella followed closely behind Erik, sometimes stopping to look around. "Why do you keep doing that?" Erik asked her when they stopped at a red light.

Ella blushed, not thinking he had noticed. "The world I grew up in was... dark skies and ashes. This is beautiful, there are so many people, the buildings are all standing, you can see the stars here. Sorry, that sounds strange but-"

"No, I understand. I grew up in a dark part of the world too," Erik said. He led them to a corner store where he went and picked up a bunch of medical supplies.

"What is this place?" Ella asked him as he led them through the aisles.

"It's a store, you didn't have those?" Erik asked.

Ella shrugged, "I don't know, I wasn't allowed to leave the house much."

Erik went to the counter and paid for the items and then led Ella to a hotel. They went up to his room and Ella looked around, "You live here?"

Erik chuckled, "No, it's a hotel. You pay to stay here for a few nights when you're away from home." Ella nodded in understanding. "Now, sit."

Ella sat in the chair in the corner of the room and Erik knelt in front of her, he carefully took one of her hands and began to spread some disinfecting cream over the burns, then he wrapped up her hand. He repeated the process on her other hand.

"Thank you," Ella spoke.

"You saved my life, it's the least I could do," Erik said. He then looked into her eyes and realized something, "Are you wearing colour contacts?"

"Oh! I almost forgot," Ella exclaimed. She reached up and quickly removed her contacts, and he was stunned. Her eyes were gorgeous. The iris was coloured like a diamond. "I wore these so people wouldn't recognize me right away." She looked into Erik's eyes, "I wish I had your eyes, they're nice."

"You wish you had my eyes?" Erik questioned. "Why? Yours are spectacular."

Ella blushed red, "Thank you."

Erik then stood and looked around the room. "You take the bed," he spoke.

Ella's eyes furrowed, "Where are you going to sleep then?"

"The floor will do fine," Erik replied.

Ella looked at him curiously, "No, you take the bed, I'll sleep in the tub."

Erik looked at her strangely as she pilled pillows and the duvet in the tub and plopped herself into it. She was actually short enough to fit nicely and she smiled up at him, "Being short has its advantages."

He raised an eyebrow but then sat on the edge of the tub and looked down to her. "So, Shaw is your father?"

Ella nodded, "Technically. I would describe him more as a captor, or a tormentor, but I guess you know that."

Erik frowned, "I didn't tell you anything about that."

"Oh, right, sorry I should explain. My mutation is the ability to see and travel through time and space. It's quite easy to see into the past, it's what I was doing when I first saw you. I was trying to see who you were, if you would help me and why you were there. I also saw what he did to you, I'm really sorry."

Erik nodded, "So, you're from the future then."

Ella sighed, "Yeah, I am. About 120 years from now. Usually, I can only go back in time a few days, maybe a week, but when Shaw tried to kill me, he inadvertently made me much stronger than usual, and in that moment of strength, I jumped back in time 120 years."

Erik stared at her in shock, "You're from 120 years in the future." Ella nodded. "No wonder you think everything is strange."

Ella laughed a little, "Yeah, it is strange, but if there's a chance that the world can stay this... perfect, I'll do anything."

Erik studied her curiously, she was so naive about this time. She thought the world was so perfect but honestly, people and what they do is probably exactly the same, it's just a little harder to see. "I admire your outlook, but the world isn't as good as you think it is."

Ella yawned and smiled at him, "I think you underestimate the goodness of people. When given a choice, I believe they make the right ones. The problem is when a man like Shaw takes that choice away from them."

"Well, we'll agree to disagree then," Erik said. He stood and went to the door, "Goodnight, Ella." He turned off the light switch and went to sleep.

* * *

In the next week, Erik and Ella focused on trying to find Shaw again. It seemed he was taking greater precautions now that he knew the two of them were looking for him. They stayed at the hotel in Italy for a few more days before Erik decided they needed to start moving. He had hoped that Ella might be able to see into the future and tell him where they were heading, but the future was always changing, and there were infinite possibilities. She couldn't help him find Shaw, but Erik had built up a network of sorts over the years, and there were a few leads he thought he could follow in Austria. So that was where they went.

The two of them made an interesting pair, she thought the best of people, and Erik thought the worst. Erik would never admit it, but maybe her outlook was starting to wear off on him... just a little. She took so much joy in the little things, going shopping, walking around outside, sleeping in the bathtub.

She also loved the rain, the first time it had rained, she had gotten very concerned when she had seen people outside. She was used to having to hide inside whenever the rain fell because it was absolutely toxic, and Shaw didn't like to take chances.

Erik saw her staring with amazement out of the window. "Come on," he said.

They left the hotel and Erik watched as she acted as if she was having the time of her life. Slowly he felt himself smiling at her.

Later that night, Erik felt uncharacteristically tired and went to sleep early, only to wake up coughing several times through the night. The third time, it was quite loud and woke Ella up. She moved out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed, "Erik?" She asked softly. "Are you okay?"

He groaned, "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, I woke you."

Ella frowned, she touched his arm and it was ice cold. He usually felt cold to her, since she was usually quite warm due to all the energy that she stored in her body thanks to inheriting a bit of Shaw's mutation. This was very different. He was sick, like really sick.

She went and got her blankets from the bathtub and laid them on top of him. "Just, try to stay warm, I'm going to go get you some medicine."

Erik didn't really respond, he just groaned and rolled over.

She grabbed his wallet and left the hotel. She headed down to the local drug store. She walked in and realized that she had no idea what she was looking for. She went up to the counter and the clerk barely spared her a notice.

"_Hi, my friend is very sick. He's cold and he keeps coughing very loudly,_" Ella spoke in German. It was her first language, but a hundred years would change any language and the way she spoke it came off as different. Her accent was clearly exceedingly odd because they gave her a bit of a strange look but then grabbed a few things.

"_Give him two of these every four hours, if he starts vomiting, also give him one of these every six hours. Make sure he drinks lots of water,"_ the pharmacist told her.

"_Thank you_," Ella said. She paid and left. She got back to the hotel and opened the door to find Erik passed out on the bathroom floor. The bathroom was a mess, and Erik looked terrible. She took a towel and wet it down, she knelt in front of him and wiped off his face. She pulled off his shirt and threw it aside. She got a glass of water and gave him the medications the pharmacist had told her to give him. He could barely swallow them.

She got him up and led him back to the bed where she covered him up in blankets again.

"Ella," he groaned as soon as she moved away from him. "Please, it's so cold."

She smiled at him a bit and climbed onto the other side of the bed. She pulled herself under the covers and allowed her body to release some of the built-up energy she possessed. She could feel Erik move closer to her and sigh.

Eventually, she felt herself drift off as well.

In the morning, she felt herself tucked tightly in Erik's arms. Throughout the last night, Erik had progressively gotten closer and closer to her, until he had completely engulfed her, trying to get as warm as possible.

Ella carefully removed herself from the bed and quickly got changed into new clothes. She didn't know that Erik had actually woken up and was watching her. She took off her shirt, her back was facing him, and he saw that she was covered in scars.

She quickly changed into new clothes and turned to see Erik watching her. She blushed beet-red but tried to smile through her embarrassment.

"See anything you like Lensherr?" She questioned playfully.

He looked to her gratefully, "Thank you for last night. You didn't have to do that."

Ella sat down beside him, "Well, that's what friends are for I guess. Are you feeling much better?"

Erik was going to lie and say yes, but he wouldn't be opposed to Ella's care for another day. "Not really," he eventually replied.

She tossed him more pills and went to get him a glass of water.

He accepted both, downing the pills and the water quickly. "So, how'd you get all those scars."

Ella looked away from him, "I'm sure you can imagine."

He brushed the back of her hand with his thumb, "We'll find him, we'll kill him, I promise."

Ella probably smiled too largely at someone who had just vowed to kill her father, but she wasn't a normal person by any means.

"Go back to sleep Erik, you need to rest," she said softly.

Erik just stared at her, "You're beautiful, you know."

Ella shook her head slightly, "Yeah, I think this illness is making you delusional."

"No really, I mean it," Erik said.

Ella blushed and turned away, she grabbed Erik's wallet again and headed for the door, "And I mean it, get some rest. I'll be back later."

"Where are you going?" Erik asked.

"To the art gallery a few blocks down," Ella said.

Erik nodded as she left, quickly falling back asleep.

When he woke, Erik was alone in the room. He figured that he had only slept for a few hours because Ella wasn't back yet, but as he looked at the clock, he became quite concerned. It had been about 9 o'clock when Ella had left, and it was almost 6 pm now.

Feeling quite a bit better, Erik got up, quickly got dressed and went out to find her.

He went to the art gallery and looked everywhere, but he didn't find her. Eventually, he went to the front desk to ask if anyone had seen her.

"Short young woman, dark hair, really light eyes. She's not from around here..." Erik tried to search for more descriptors of her. "She speaks German but with a very strange accent." The person he was talking to didn't know, but one of the others was listening closely.

Just as Erik was about to leave, the young man came up to him.

"Sir, wait, I think I know the girl you're talking about. She met up with someone while she was here. A blonde woman with blue eyes and um... not a lot of clothes. They left quite soon after they came."

Erik froze as the man described Emma Frost. "Where did they go?"

"They looked like they were going to the coffee shop down the street, but that was a while ago," he told Erik.

Erik thanked him and quickly left to see if they were still there, though he knew in his heart they wouldn't be.

He entered the nearly empty cafe and saw that they weren't there. He went to the barista and asked if he had seen the women. He said he hadn't.

It had started to rain, Erik walked outside and allowed himself to become drenched. He looked around the streets desperately, but she wasn't there. Ella was gone. He figured that they would have killed her, Shaw wanted her dead in the future anyway, so he's really just doing himself a favour.

Emma probably tricked her into coming with them quietly. He wondered if it was quick or if they drew it out. He wondered if she had gotten a chance to fight back, or if she had just been slaughtered.

Soon enough he had made it back to the hotel, his hands were shaking so bad he could barely open the door. When he did, he found a surprise. There was someone singing in the shower.

Erik broke the lock on the bathroom door and barged in on Ella in the shower. She quickly covered herself with her hands.

"Erik! What are you-"

Erik pulled open the glass door of the shower and didn't say a word as he embraced her. It was a slightly ridiculous sight, Erik was fully clothed and soaking wet, hugging a startled Ella.

"I thought you were dead," Erik whispered. Ella could barely hear it over the shower, but she heard it. She hugged him back. They had only known each other for just under a month, but already they had such a profound connection.

"I'm so sorry Erik," Ella said, looking up at him.

The only words Erik could muster were, "God, you're beautiful."

...

They woke up the next morning much like they had the morning before with a few differences. Firstly, everything metal in the room had fallen or broken. Secondly, Ella would keep teleporting them around the room, so there was a significant amount of broken furniture.

It was then that Erik finally got the chance to ask.

"What happened yesterday?" Erik asked.

"Well, I went to the art gallery," Ella began. "While I was there, I saw her. I followed her around, I thought she didn't know I was there and that maybe she would meet up with Shaw. But I was wrong, she followed me. She wanted to know about her future. We went to a little cafe and we spoke for a long time. Then she brought me back to where she was staying, and she gave me these gloves. She said that my hands wouldn't get burnt from Shaw's powers when I wore them."

Erik furrowed his eyebrows, "Why would she do that?"

Ella shrugged, "I don't think she liked what I told her."

"What did you tell her?"

"That Shaw treats her like a servant, like she's his property. That she dies in his mutant fighting rings because he tosses her aside for a younger, more 'gifted' woman."

Erik hummed, she felt his chest vibrate on her back. She turned to face him, her head resting on the pillow just below his chin. He wrapped his arms around her again.

"Why are you always so warm?" Erik asked.

He felt Ella smile, "When Shaw decided that I was a problem, he thought that the best way to kill me would be to highlight all my failings in his eyes. He had hoped that I was like him, that I could absorb energy, but I never could. So he locked me, and an atom bomb in a bunker. Unfortunately for him, I guess I can. I just don't think I can hold it as well as he can, hence, I'm always warm."

"How did it feel?" Erik asked.

"It hurt for a moment, but then I used most of it to come back here," Ella told him.

He held her a little tighter, "Well, I like it."

"Because you're always cold," Ella said with a laugh.

"What can I say, we complement each other," Erik said suavely.


	2. Chapter 2

After the excitement of the previous day. Erik and Ella prepared to visit the banker. They both needed some nicer clothes. They went out and got Erik a nice suit and Ella a pretty dress. Just as they were leaving, Erik opened his palm and showed her two rings.

One was a beautiful diamond ring with the metal wrought around it like a flower, the other was a more simple silver band.

"What's this?" Ella asked with the trace of a blush on her cheeks.

"I think we'd blend in better as a married couple don't you?" Erik asked her as he slipped the ring on her finger.

She laughed, "Is this a proposal?"

Erik leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear, "When I propose to you, you'll know, trust me."

Ella didn't even know what to say, she was certain her face was redder than Mars at this point. He always did that. She looked down at the tile floors of the shopping center, "Right, well, let's go." She could hear Erik chuckle deeply behind her.

They entered the bank and asked to speak to the head operator, who Erik knew was a Nazi. They walked in and Erik placed the briefcase of Nazi gold on his desk and opened it. The banker's eyes went wide, but not with concern, with curiosity.

"You know, having that is illegal," he spoke. He didn't really give off the impression of someone who was going to turn them in.

Erik looked at Ella, who remained silent. She had such a strange accent that she was concerned someone would be able to recognize her from her voice alone. So she decided to try and speak as little as possible in public.

"Come now, let's not play these games. This bank was recommended to me by a friend," Erik spoke.

The man straightened up, "I see. And did your friend inform you of the terms of the bank?"

"Yes, and you should know mine," Erik stood. "This gold is what remains of my people. It was taken from their possessions, melted down from their teeth. This is blood money, and I want the man responsible."

Ella's eyes darted from the man to the desk as several futures where they were caught flashed before her eyes. "Erik, his hand."

The banker's eyes flashed to Ella with confusion as he looked into her eyes. Erik immediately held back the metal in his watch and disallowing the banker to press the help button.

"Don't touch that alarm," Erik warned. "Klaus Schmidt, I want him. Where is he?" Erik moved to sit on the desk in front of the man.

"Our clients don't provide addresses! We're-"

"Not that kind of bank?" Ella questioned, still sitting down.

The banker looked between the two of them with terror. And then he started to gasp and grab his jaw

"Metal fillings," Erik commented, "Not gold? Worried someone will steal them?"

The man was now in agony as he shouted what Erik wanted to know. "Argentina! Schmidt is in Argentina! Villa Gessel!"

Erik frowned, it would take them at least a day to get there. If they left, it would be hard to find them again. "How long until they leave?" He asked Ella.

Ella kept her eyes open, but anyone who watched knew she wasn't really seeing what was in front of her. She was combing through the futures, "He might leave today, or we might find him there."

The thing about the future was that all people, all things made choices. It made the possibilities of the future nearly endless. If the Captain of Schmidt's boat is alert, Schmidt doesn't have any seasickness and has a good night in the company of Emma Frost, then he arrives at Villa Gessel in a good mood, and is more inclined to stay for longer. If an elderly man decides to go visit his daughter on a whim, he drives slowly and annoys Schmidt on the way to the Villa. He's in a bad mood when they reach the villa and when he sees it is not in the best condition, he makes plans to go elsewhere and leaves that day. There's nothing Erik and Ella can do about that, except go to Argentina and see which future is the one that really happened.

Erik turned back to the man who was holding his now filling-less mouth. "If you tell anyone we came here, I will do far worse."

Ella and Erik left, both of them looking over their shoulders to make sure they weren't followed. They got back to the hotel and began packing their few belongings frantically. Ella teleported them to the airport and she turned the corner of the building, to the main walkway, but Erik seemed frozen in place.

Ella turned back to him and frowned, "Erik, are you alright?"

He snapped out of whatever was going on. "Yes, fine. I just don't think I'll be able to get used to that." He hadn't really noticed the last time because he had enough adrenaline pumping that it wasn't of much concern to him.

Ella laughed at him a little, "Come on, we have a flight to catch." They went through the airport without any difficulties and boarded the plane. Just before takeoff, Ella leaned over to Erik. "You could stop the plane from crashing if it was going to, right?"

Erik chuckled at her, "Yes. Am I going to have to?"

Ella looked at him with a coy grin, "I hope not." She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, there were many thoughts swarming through her head.

The thing with time travel is that it's infinitely complicated. All the theoretical things never work out the way you think they will. Like that old paradox about killing your grandfather. You can actually do that, but the thing about it is you'd get stuck in a collapsing future. Now, particles can't just cease to exist, so the powers that be will find some way to correct your presence in the new past.

Ella could see infinite ways in which Erik kills Shaw, and all of them end in her death, one way or another.

She wished she had realized what would happen if she let them grow so close. There were so many futures Ella could see where Erik can't bring himself to kill Shaw after he finds out what would happen to her. She'd just have to keep that to herself.

"Are you alright?" Erik asked quietly.

She looked up to him with a bit of a start, she didn't realize how out of it she had been. The plane was already in the air, she hadn't noticed the takeoff.

Ella put a smile on her face, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Erik tried to get comfortable in the seat, "I still don't know why you couldn't have just taken us there."

Ella shook her head against him, "Unless you wanted me to drop us in the middle of the Atlantic, I don't think you would've been impressed."

It was eight hours from Vienna to New York, then from there to Mar del Plata was another seven, then they had a three-hour drive to Villa Gessel. It was a good thing that neither of them got sick on planes.

...

Nearly a day later, they rolled up to the front of Villa Gessel. Erik was driving and Ella barely waited until he had stopped to jump out of the car.

"Ella! Wait!" Erik called after her as he quickly put the car in park.

She moved quickly, teleporting into the house. She went from room to room, getting more and more livid with each empty room she found. She eventually came back to the entry and opened the door to see Erik standing there.

Her breath was shaky and she was on the verge of tears. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Erik said.

Ella shook her head, "No, it is. My... _powers_ are useless. He was right, I'm just a waste of potential." Ella suddenly disappeared, and Erik was at first very concerned that she had just left, never to be seen again. But as he moved through the house calling her name, he saw her sitting on the beach behind the house.

He walked down to her and sat on the beach beside her.

"Shaw, Schmidt, whatever he goes by, he's a bad man Ella. Don't ever think that what he says matters, especially about you," Erik said.

Ella shook her head, "No, that's just the thing. He is terrible, but he always tells the truth. I'm sorry, I don't even know why you keep bringing me with you, I'm probably just slowing you down."

"No, he doesn't. Your powers are incredible, and even if they weren't, I'd still want you with me," Erik said.

Ella looked away from him, "Don't lie to me, Erik."

"Look at me," Erik said. "Ella, look at me." He brushed her cheek with his thumb. "I don't know what Shaw did to you, or what he told you, but if it was anything other than saying that you were perfect, he was lying."

A small smile graced her lips and a blush warmed her cheeks. "I'm not-"

"You are," Erik interrupted. "Really, you are."

Ella blushed even more, "Thank you, Erik."

They sat there on the beach in silence for a few moments, watching the soft waves roll in.

"How was he, as a father I mean?" Erik asked her.

She looked down at the beach, "Probably about what you'd expect."

"There wasn't anyone else, like... a nanny?"

Ella laughed a little and shook her head. "No, I mean... it was just us."

"Us?" Erik asked curiously.

Ella nodded, "Yeah, there were 20 of us when we were younger, but Schmidt _discarded_ most of them before we were 16. There were only three of us left by the time we were 18. Me and Damon and Oskar, he couldn't choose so he wanted us to kill each other until only one of us was left, then he was going to name us his successor."

"What happened?" Erik asked.

"Well, Damon was truly Schmidt's son, he didn't care about us, just about winning. Oskar killed him. We were friends, we didn't really want to hurt each other. He asked if the future would be better with me or with him...

"Ella! Look! What do you see?!" He shouted at her across from the field. Schmidt had set it up like a Gladiator match in an old stadium, he had invited everyone to watch.

She shut her eyes and looked, the futures that ended up better than what there as right now were few and far between the ones that were the same or worse, but those few brighter spots, they all had her.

She looked up at Oskar, "It's you Oskar, it's always been you!" She shouted back.

There must have been something in her eyes, something that gave away her lie.

He shook his head at her, "I'm sorry, Ella."

She shut her eyes, not wanting to see her death come for her head on, but then she heard gasping in the crowd. She opened her eyes, and all that was left of the one person who she trusted was ash.

She took a shocked step forward, Oskar's power was pyrokinesis, she knew he could heat up to incredible temperatures, but this was different. He heated to a temperature so high that he disintegrated.

Suddenly a voice sounded from the speakers. "And the victor is my youngest, Ella Schmidt. She proves that the best leader is one who gets other's to do the hard work!" Schmidt boasted over the speakers.

Erik suddenly recoiled from Ella. "What was that?!"

Ella furrowed her eyebrows, "What? What do you mean?"

"I mean I _saw_ that! How did you do that?" Erik exclaimed.

"What do you mean you saw that?" Ella asked.

"I mean I felt like I was there, I saw the stadium, that man, you, everything. I saw it, Ella. Like I was there. You... showed me," Erik said.

Ella shook her head, "But I can't do that, I've never done that."

"You just did," Erik spoke. "Try and do it again. Maybe something... nicer."

Erik held out his hand and Ella hesitantly took it. She shut her eyes and combed through the past to see if there was something Erik would want to see. Eventually, she settled on a memory from his childhood. It was when he and his mother and father were all still together. He was a toddler, she could see it, and then suddenly Erik could too.

There was a little boy with dark hair toddling around a small living room, Erik's mother was sitting in front of him, urging him to walk to her. Then his father entered from another room and crouched down.

"Erik, Erik, come to papa," he urged.

Suddenly, little Erik turned, just inches away from his mother's arms and toddled over to his father.

"See! He loves me more!" The man boasted.

Erik's mother scoffed, "No, I'll make a mama's boy out of him yet, just you see."

The vision of the past faded and Ella opened her eyes to see tears streaming down Erik's face.

"I couldn't remember what my father looked like, what his voice sounded like." He looked at her with wonder, "Thank you, for giving that back to me."

Ella took his hand, "I'm sorry that it was ever taken away." She stood up and brushed some of the sand off her legs. "Come on, I think he went to that bar we drove past earlier before he left. Someone there might know where he went."

Erik stood and followed her back to the car. He hesitated a bit before starting the car.

"What's wrong?" Ella asked.

"I love you, you know that, don't you?" Erik asked her.

Ella smiled and blushed, "Yeah, of course I do. I love you too."

"Marry me."

Ella blinked, "I... what?"

"Marry me, Ella."

"What if something happens to one of us? Do you really want to be that attached if-"

"I already am attached to you, I just want to know, that whatever happens, we'll always have a piece of each other."

Ella bit her lip a little and blushed, "You're quite the romantic, you know that?"

He grinned a little, "Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

He pecked her cheek, "Excellent, let's find Shaw, get married, then I'll kill him for you as a wedding gift."

Ella smiled even as a pit in her stomach formed. "I'd like nothing more."

They went down the road to the bar. They walked in arm-in-arm into the small place. There were a few men inside, but Erik and Ella instantly recognized them from the picture that was hanging on the wall of the bar with them and Schmidt... in Miami.

Erik and Ella put on happy smiles, "Afternoon," Erik addressed to the men in German. He then turned to the bartender, "Beer, German beer."

The men seemed pleased, one of them struck up a conversation as Erik took a sip.

"Bitburger, you like it?" One of them asked.

Erik grinned, more about knowing he was going to have a chance to kill more Nazi's, but the men took it was friendliness.

"The best," he replied.

He and Ella stood and moved to the table the men were sitting at.

"So, what brings you two to Argentina?" One of the men asked.

Ella and Erik glanced at each other, "Our honeymoon, actually."

"Congratulations, a good German girl I hope?"

Ella smiled, "Better, from Austria, up in the mountains." It was an isolated region, known for speaking German a bit differently than others

The men nodded, "Yes, a beautiful place for a beautiful woman. Lucky man," he said to Erik.

Erik chuckled and nodded, "And what brings you gentlemen to Argentina?"

"The climate. I'm a pig farmer," the first one said.

"I'm a tailor. Since I was a boy. My father made the finest suits in Dusseldorf," the second man said.

"Ah! My parents were from Dusseldorf," Erik said.

"What were their names?" He asked.

Erik's demeanour then completely changed. "They didn't have names, they were taken from them, by tailors and pig farmers." Erik then pushed up the sleeves of his shirt so they could see the tattooed numbers as he downed the rest of his beer.

The men looked between them for a moment. Ella was sitting closer to the so-called pig farmer and Erik was closer to the tailor.

The pig farmer struck first. He pulled out a knife and probably would have stabbed her if she hadn't been expecting it. Before even Erik reacted, she had taken the knife from him and stabbed it into his hand. He screamed in agony.

"Blood and honour? Looks more like it's just blood," Ella said to him.

Then the bartender emerged from behind the bar with a gun pointed at Ella. Erik stood and moved the gun so that it pointed away from Ella, and towards the tailor. He forced the trigger down and the bullet unsurprisingly found it's mark.

Ella then ripped the knife out of the man's hand and tossed it in the general direction of the bartender. Erik flung it into his chest then ripped it out and did the same to the pig farmer.

Erik and Ella then looked at each other with determination, "Miami." They both said simultaneously.


	3. Chapter 3

Erik and Ella flew back to the US at their earliest chance. They landed in New York first on their way to Miami but had nearly 12 hours until their next flight left so they decided to walk around the city a bit. It was mostly just the two of them on the streets

Eventually, they came across this beautiful building where they could hear many people singing in unison inside.

"What's this?" Ella asked Erik.

"It's a Synagogue," Erik replied.

She glanced up at him, "Do you want to go inside?"

Erik nodded wordlessly and made his way up the steps gripping Ella's hand tightly.

They entered quietly and sat in the very back. After a few minutes there, Ella looked up at Erik's face and found that he looked very peaceful, the way he only ever looked in his sleep, and even that was rare. Coming here was definitely worth it.

The way the Rabbi spoke was very relaxing, yet quite moving. She could tell that he was made to speak to people.

When the service was done, Erik didn't stand he just continued to sit and watch as the Rabbi spoke with several people who had stayed behind. Ella stood and walked around the synagogue, admiring the architecture.

Eventually, there was no one left but her and Erik. The Rabbi didn't recognize either of them, so he went over to Erik to introduce himself.

"I don't believe I've seen you around before," the man spoke.

"No, I've never been here before," Erik spoke. "We were just walking by and..."

"There's no need to explain yourself, all are welcome here," he spoke kindly.

Erik was taken aback by his kindness and didn't quite know what to say.

"So, you aren't from around here are you?" He asked.

Erik shook his head, "I was born in Poland. I mostly grew up in Germany."

The man looked at Erik, trying to approximate his age, but he didn't need to guess any longer as he looked at the man's forearm and saw the numbers.

"It was a terrible thing, what happened there."

"Terrible isn't strong enough, but yes, it was."

Erik looked up to see Ella smiling as she ran her fingers along the intricate carvings on the columns around the edges of the synagogue. He couldn't help the quirk of his lips upwards.

"Is she your wife?" The man asked.

"I actually just proposed to her yesterday. We're planning on getting married tomorrow."

"Anything specific in mind?"

"Not really."

"Well, how about tonight? I can do it here, my wife and daughter can be the witnesses."

Erik actually smiled this time, "Ella," he spoke softly, but his words echoed in the large space. "Want to get married?"

Ella had never seen any sort of wedding, so she had no idea how it was supposed to go, or what was supposed to happen, but Erik was smiling as she had never seen him smile before, so she took that as a good sign.

She had to walk around him seven times, then they recited seven blessings, then they drank from a cup of wine and Erik through a glass on the floor.

It wasn't completely traditional, Ella was wearing a t-shirt, a black jacket and a red skirt instead of a wedding dress, and they didn't have just simple gold bands like tradition would dictate, but it was still perfect.

After the ceremony was done, and they signed the papers, the Rabbi, Ezriel, or Ezzy as he liked to be called, invited them over for dinner.

They had a delicious meal, and both of them would have loved to stay longer, but they did have a plane to catch.

He held the door open for her, "After you, Mrs. Lensherr."

Ella smiled and pecked his cheek on her way through the door, "Thank you, Mr. Lensherr."

Erik grinned at her and wrapped an arm around her as he carried their bag in his other arm.

The plane ride was uneventful, Erik mostly slept through it and his quiet snores were oddly reassuring to Ella. She was getting more and more nervous about the coming fight. Being able to see the future only really made it worse. She could see Erik cradling her body, whispering, "Please don't take her from me," over and over again. She could see Emma Frost kneel down beside him and tell him that she was gone. And honestly, that was one of the better versions. He didn't actually see the moment Shaw delivered the killing blow, he didn't see the fear in her eyes as she suddenly realized that it was over. He didn't even see that she had been hurt until he managed to kill Shaw, although, Emma saw. She did have a role to play in Shaw's death, freezing him for long enough that Erik could kill him. Then he saw her, and his face...

"Ella?" Erik asked quietly while shaking her slightly.

Ella opened her eyes, she hadn't realized she had started to cry.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Ella quickly wiped her cheeks, "Nothing, I just need to stop focusing on the future and focus on the present."

Erik frowned slightly, "Is it that bad?"

"Just a few," Ella lied.

Erik paused for a moment, "What did you see?" Ella looked away from him, not able to meet his eye, just like she always did when he asked her what she sees. "Ella, what did you see? Tell me."

"It's not important, really," Ella tried to backpedal.

"Don't do that," Erik started. "Don't just keep everything to yourself, Ella. It'll eat you away."

Ella shut her eyes, and Erik was worried that his words had only served to push her further away.

"I... died, he killed me. You killed him, but then you saw and-" Her voice caught in her throat, "I'm really sorry, I don't want that to happen to you."

"It won't, I'd do anything."

"But that's just it isn't it? Sometimes it's out of your hands, sometimes it's out of my hands." Ella looked up at his frozen face. She could tell that, while she had warned him of the possibility of her death, he had never really considered it seriously until now. That scared her a little. She didn't want him to turn down a darker road from grief. "But you know, most of the time, things work themselves out."

Erik didn't immediately respond. He simply gripped her hand tightly, "I won't let him touch you," he finally whispered.

...

The day was finally upon them. Yet, Ella's revelation of the possible future was weighing heavy on Erik's mind. He was starting to feel hesitant, as much as it pained him. But Ella wasn't going to wait. She said that in her future he takes over sometime this year, and she was not going to give up any chance to stop him.

So they went to the docks, both prepared for the confrontation of their lives, more or less.

Before they began, Erik pulled her close to him and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ella whispered back.

"Remeber the plan, distract him, but don't get too close," Erik said.

"I know, just... let me handle Azazel."

Erik nodded, "Please be safe."

Ella nodded and squeezed his hand one more time before she put on the gloves that Emma had given her. She quickly kissed him one more time and then she was gone.

When she looked up, she was in front of Schmidt once again.

"Ah, Ella! How wonderful!" He exclaimed.

She looked around the boat and saw that they had been drinking, "Scotch? Mind if I...?"

Schmidt gestured for her to go ahead, she poured a glass and quickly downed it.

"So, I assume you brought Erik with you, where would he be hiding?" Shaw asked.

Ella shook her head a little, "Actually, I probably owe you a bit of an apology about that. You see, he was starting to get on my nerves and, well, you know me."

Shaw looked at her with a hint of pride, "Well, it is a shame, but sometimes there are necessary evils." Shaw paused, "I take it then that this means you are still here to kill me?"

Ella smiled a little, "Yeah, well, I would say it's nothing personal, but... it really is."

"Haven't you ever thought that you might have more of an impact on the future if you teamed up with me?" He asked.

Ella nodded, leaning on the side of the boat casually, "The thought did cross my mind, but there was one thing that just wouldn't have worked."

"And what's that?"

"Well, you just don't understand my motivations. I'm not just here to avenge my brothers and sisters that you killed, I'm not just here to avenge myself, I'm here to avenge the whole world. The one that you burned to the ground, the one that you destroyed and said you had saved."

Emma looked to her with curiosity. She was wondering what the girl's plan was, she wouldn't interfere, but she was... worried. There was a strange sense of protectiveness over the girl. It was enough to make Emma begin to doubt herself, but not enough to completely change her mind about Shaw. As the girl said, the future wasn't set in place. Nonetheless, she was glad that Ella was wearing the gloves.

Ella sighed, "So, just you and me, or do you want me to deal with your minions first?"

Shaw was waiting to see if what she had said about Erik was true or not. Since he hadn't shown up yet, maybe she was telling the truth, but he wouldn't be caught off guard. He shrugged and glanced over to Azazel who immediately appeared in front of Ella.

She quickly turned around and came face to face with Azazel. One of the things that teleporters always did was go behind their target which was all well and good, but not when the person you're fighting is also a teleporter. She punched him right in the face and he staggered back, she roundhouse kicked him in the chest, sending him even further back.

Erik could hear the struggling from where he was hiding, but she still hadn't said the code-word, which was diamond. He was starting to get worried, he was on the verge of just revealing himself and helping her.

Eventually, he heard someone crash into the side of the boat and his heart froze until he heard Shaw's voice.

"I see I taught you well," he boasted.

Ella laughed, "It's too bad you used your diamond girl for me, or else you might stand a chance."

There is was, 'diamond'. Erik then manipulated the metal of the doorframe and wrapped it around Shaw, temporarily immobilizing him.

Ella reacted quickly, appearing right in front of him. She whipped off her gloves and put both her hands on his face, and they began to glow. She was sucking his absorbed energy from his body, making him weaker, and ageing him slowly. It had actually been Erik's idea, and it seemed to be working. He stepped around the corner of the boat and the first thing he did was scan Ella for injuries. Then he turned to Whirlwind and Frost. Emma seemed to be generally conflicted, she knew that Shaw would be quite angry with her if he made it out of this and discovered that she had not done anything. But at the same time, it looked like Ella had him under control. So she decided to just let Whirlwind try it with Erik.

Unfortunately, things quickly went downhill. Whirlwind flung him off of the boat, and the rocking of the boat made Ella stumble and release her grip on Shaw, it was just for a moment, but that was enough for him. The moment she wasn't incapacitating him with visions from his past, he broke free.

Ella froze as he grabbed her wrist, "I'll be taking that back now," he said with a sick grin.

The second she felt it, she fell to her knees. As much as she would have wanted to take the pain solemnly, she couldn't help the scream that tore through her throat. The pain was so intense, and that coupled with the fact that Shaw was draining her of all her energy caused her vision to go black.

When she opened her eyes again, she didn't know what was going on. She felt someone touching her, and she figured it was Shaw, so she instantly tried to move away from them.

"It's okay Ella, it's me," Emma spoke. She was hurried as Erik was currently destroying the boat with the anchor. "You have to get up sweetie, get up, get off the boat."

The next thing Ella felt was the cold ocean water embracing her. She almost wanted to close her eyes and just... drift away, but a sudden rush of adrenaline forced her body to swim to the surface. It took a moment for the black spots in her vision to fade away, but when they did she saw a submarine moving below her.

She took a breath and prepared herself. She was suddenly in the submarine, and everyone looked at her with shock, especially Emma.

It took only a second for them to spring into action. Through a mix of an amazing show of acrobatic talent and her teleporting abilities, she managed to get past everyone to make it to Shaw. Before she could get close enough, Emma came from out of nowhere and kicked her back. Ella was so drained that her mental shield wasn't up and Frost was able to speak inside her head.

"You have to get out of here, he'll kill you."

Ella kicked her away so it would look natural, not just like Emma let her go, and then she disappeared. Except, she didn't reappear where she had wanted to. That never happened. She was back in the water, watching the submarine go, but her limbs felt numb, and she barely had the energy to keep her eyes open. She thought she was really done this time.

'I'm sorry Erik,' she thought. She passed out before she could feel arms wrap around her and bring her to the surface.

...

"Ella!" Erik roared, treading water. The man that jumped in after him was beside him. "Ella!" He called again. Then he saw something in the water. If it wasn't her... Erik didn't know what he was going to do.

He dove down again and as he got closer, his heart began to pound harder. A glimmer of hope sprouted in his head as he swam faster than he ever had before. He wrapped his arms around her and swam upwards as fast as he possibly could. When he surfaced, the man from before was there with a small boat. Erik lifted her up onto the boat and quickly followed. The man took her pulse and then checked to see if she was breathing and then his eyes widened.

Erik quickly started to perform CPR on her. When he wasn't breathing for her, he was muttering, begging, really, in Polish. "Please don't take her, please don't take her from me."

After about two rounds, she began to cough and sputter. Her eyes opened widely in panic and she lashed out at the closest person to her, which was Erik. Specifically, his face. He didn't let the pain stop him though, he grabbed her arms and pressed her to him.

"Ella, it's me. It's alright," he told her in German, her first language, thinking it would help her to understand quicker.

Ella suddenly stopped struggling and allowed Erik to embrace her.

"I..." She started, still breathing heavily, "Sorry."

Erik shook his head and pulled away from her, "God, you're okay," he breathed, still having all of the emotions running through him. "You _are_ okay right?"

"Yeah, I'm... okay, bruised up here and there, but I'll be fine." Ella's eyes flicked to Charles, and then to the boat that they were heading to, "Who are they?"

The man then stepped forward, "I'm Charles Xavier, and I'm with the CIA."

"Oh, great, just what we need, more humans who can't help," Ella spoke sarcastically.

Erik smirked a little, "He's not, he's like us. He was in my head."

At that Ella immediately shielded both of their minds, causing Charles to wince, but then look at her in wonder once he realized what she had done.

"You're quite like the other woman on that boat, aren't you?" Charles asked.

Ella nodded a bit, "Yeah, that's my mother." Charles' eyes opened a bit wider, "It's complicated." She looked up at the large boat their little dingey just pulled up beside. "I assume we're getting on that?" Charles nodded a bit, and the next thing he knew, he was up on the deck of the ship.

Ella stumbled a bit, but Erik kept her on her feet. "You're sure you're okay?" He asked quietly.

Ella nodded a little grimly, "Just a little drained."

Erik frowned as he remembered hearing her screams from the water. What did Shaw do to her?

Then two other women came over to the three of them.

"Ah, Raven, this is Erik and Ella. They're mutants, like us. Erik, Ella, this is my sister Raven, and Agent Moira McTaggart," he explained to her. "They're after Shaw as well."

"We almost had him, too. That was the closest we've ever been," Ella said. Erik nodded in agreement. Ella then looked at Charles and Raven inquisitively. "So why are you after Schmidt? Certainly, he never did anything to you, never would have gotten the chance, seeing as you two lived pretty little lives in a mansion outside New York. So why are you here?"

Raven and Charles looked at each other with shock, "How did you know that?" Raven asked.

"Just part of my mutation, as you call it," Ella said nonchalantly.

Charles looked to Erik, who didn't seem phased at her knowledge at all. "Moira here recruited us. We'd love to have the help of the two of you." Ella looked up at Erik to see what he was thinking, it was hard to tell. "Of course, you don't have to decide right now."

"Thanks," Erik spoke. Though everyone there could tell that the pair were uncertain about their operation.

"I have some clothes that'll probably fit you, if you want to get out of the wetsuits," Raven offered Ella.

Ella nodded and smiled slightly, "Yeah, that would be nice. Thank you."

Erik hesitantly let go of her hand as she left with Raven. They walked through the series of hallways until Raven gestured with her arm to one of the doors.

"This is me I guess," Raven said nervously. She opened up one of her suitcases and fished out a simple black sundress. "Here, I think that'll look nice on you."

"Thank you," Ella said. "Sorry about before, you've caught me on a bad day I'm afraid. I usually don't do that. It freaks people out a bit." She smiled apologetically.

Raven shook her head, "No, I mean, yeah it was a little freaky, but it's actually kind of cool. How do you do it?"

"My power is that I can see and move through time and space, among other things."

It took Raven a second to fully understand what Ella had just said. "So... you can see the future? You can go to the future?"

"Sort of, it's not as useful as you might imagine," Ella said.

Raven was about to ask her more questions, but then she saw the puddle of water under the other woman's feet. "Sorry, I'll let you get changed."

Ella shut the door of the room and quickly changed. The dress went to her knees, but it just had spaghetti straps. Ella was able to see the extent of a lot of her injuries. She had a pretty bad burn where Shaw had touched her on her wrist, she had a few bruises from her altercation with Azazel, and she was pretty sure there were bruises on her ribs and her neck from Frost.

She opened the door and saw that it probably looked a bit worse than it really was because Raven was staring at her like she was half dead.

"Are you alright?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, nothing here's too bad actually, maybe just the burn," Ella replied.

"Well, Charles and Erik are back up on the deck, do you want to go up there?"

"Yeah, let's go."

While they were walking through the hallways Ella grabbed a first aid kit that was hanging on the wall.

They went up on deck and saw that Charles and Erik were leaning against the railing of the ship, chatting with each other. Erik turned to face Raven and Ella and frowned. He walked towards them with a frown, "I thought you said you weren't hurt."

"I said I was fine, and I am," Ella replied with a calm smile, "Come on, you've seen me with a worse burn than this." She held out the first aid kit to him.

He sighed and shook his head slightly, "Sit down." He gestured to a table.

The four of them sat around the table and watched for a bit as Erik grumbled while wrapping up her wrist.

"So," Charles started just as Erik finished. "What can the two of you do?"

Erik leaned back in his chair, "I can control metal."

Charles' eyes moved to Ella. "I can see and travel through time and space."

Raven grinned again as she looked at Charles' shocked face. "So that's how you knew about my childhood," Charles spoke. Ella nodded in response.

"Have you ever been to the future?" Raven asked, "What's it like?"

"I was born about 120 years from now," Ella said. Raven and Charles froze, which caused Erik to chuckle. "Where I come from, Schmidt takes over the world by causing nuclear war. Where I come from, there are... maybe a million people left, and he's the maniacal dictator of them all."

Raven looked like Ella had just crushed all of her childhood dreams, and Charles looked extremely concerned.

"When does he do it?" Charles asked.

"In my future, sometime this year. But my presence has completely changed things so... I don't know."

"But if you can see the future, don't you know?" Raven asked.

Ella shook her head. "The future is always changing, every single decision that every single person makes changes the future. There are nearly infinite possibilities that are beyond my ability to predict."

"That's incredible, truly, that would completely change the way we look at quantum physics and-" He looked up to see Ella looking unimpressed. "I suppose it's not an immediate worry."

"No, not really."

"You said that the telepath with Shaw-"

"Emma Frost," Erik supplied.

"Yes, Ms. Frost, you said that she was your mother, but how could that be if you're not born for another... 100 years?"

"Shaw took DNA from the most powerful female mutants he encountered and created his... children from those frozen chromosomes in an attempt to breed an extremely powerful mutant," Ella explained.

"So, Shaw is your father?" Charles asked.

"Yes."

Raven shook her head in sympathy, "And how was that?"

Ella then looked at Raven with such darkness, the buildup of twenty years of torture, that Raven felt as though she might cry. "There are no words," Ella eventually murmured.

Charles was eager to change the subject, "So, I saw that you two are recently married, congratulations."

Ella pressed a smile to her lips, "Thank you."

The rest of the trip to the facility in Virginia was relatively uneventful, but it didn't escape Charles that Ella was keeping her distance from him. It was something he'd like to discuss with her in private, if Erik ever left her side. Raven followed Ella around like a child, though she didn't realize it. And Erik seemed very uncomfortable being around other people, but Charles thought that the quiet man was warming up to him. It would take a lot more to make them a team, but this seemed like a good start.


End file.
